LOOK LIKE. CHRIS, THANK YOU. SOME SENIOR CITIZENS ARE CURRENTLY FACING HOUSING CHALLENGES DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE GREENVILLE HOMELESS ALLIANCE. A RASHAD WILLIAMS IS LIVE IN GREENVILLE WITH A LOOK AT HOW SOME FOLKS ARE BEING FORCED TO ADAPT FOR SHORT. WHAT YOU JUST SAID THE WORD ADAPT AND THE GREENVILLE HOMELESS ALLIANCE SAYS THE WORD ADAPT IN THIS CASE MEANS THAT MORE SENIOR CITIZENS ARE FORCED TO TURN TO OPTIONS LIKE EXTENDED STAY MOTELS OR EMERGENCY SHELTERS. WE’RE SEEING PEOPLE THAT ARE BECOMING HOMELESS FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN THEY’RE 55, 65, EVEN 70 YEARS OLD. ACCORDING TO THE GREENVILLE HOMELESS ALLIANCE, THERE HAS BEEN AN ALARMING INCREASE IN SENIOR CITIZENS OR THOSE USUALLY CLASSIFIED AS 55 AND OLDER. BEING FORCED TO FIND ALTERNATIVE HOUSING AND GREENVILLE SPECIFICALLY, WE’VE SEEN A NUMBER OF SENIORS UTILIZING OUR MOTELS AS LONG TERM HOUSING BECAUSE WE KNOW WE HAVE THIS GROWING, CONTINUING TO GROW DEFICIT OF HOUSING OPTIONS, NOT ONLY A DEFICIT IN HOUSING OPTIONS, BUT MANY OTHER FACTORS HAVE RESULTED IN SENIORS TURNING TO EXTENDED STAY MOTELS OR EVEN EMERGENCY SHELTERS. RISING HOUSING COSTS, HIGHER MEDICAL BILLS AS YOU AGE, MOVING OUT OF THE WORKFORCE AND INTO SOCIAL SECURITY THAT DOESN’T MEET THEIR NEEDS. DR. AMY HICKS WITH BOB JONES UNIVERSITY RECENTLY HELPED CONDUCT A CASE STUDY HIGHLIGHTING MANY BARRIERS THAT SENIORS FACE, OFTEN SHELTERS ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR THE ELDERLY. SO HOW DO WE MEET THEIR NEEDS FOR HANDICAP ACCESSIBILITY FOR PRIVACY, FOR IN-DEPTH ATTENDANCE, ALL WHILE MEETING THEIR NEEDS, FOR FOOD AND WARMTH AND CLOTHING. ACCORDING TO THE GREENVILLE HOMELESS ALLIANCE. WE HAD ABOUT 1900 UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL COME THROUGH SHELTER IN THE MOST RECENT YEAR. IT’S ABOUT A THIRD OF ALL THE PEOPLE COMING THROUGH. OUR EMERGENCY SHELTERS ARE SENIOR CITIZENS. MCLARTY SAYS THE COST FOR SENIOR ASSISTED LIVING OFTENTIMES COSTS A LOT MORE THAN A SENIOR CITIZEN ON A FIXED INCOME CAN AFFORD. GREENVILLE THE COSTS FOR AN EXTENDED STAY IN A MOTEL WOULD GO FROM $300 A WEEK UP TO $500 A WEEK. AND SOME OF THE MOTELS THAT WE KNOW SENIORS ARE UTILIZING AND MCLARTY SAYS WHILE THOSE COSTS USUALLY INCLUDE UTILITIES, MOTELS AREN’T ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE A SPACE TO CATER TO THE NEEDS OF SOMEONE WHO IS AGING. AND JUST TO REITERATE, MCLARTY WENT ON TO SAY SEVERAL TIMES THAT CREATING A LONG TERM SOLUTION MUST FIRST START WITH WITH CREATING HOUSING THAT ACCOMMODATES THOSE ON A FIXED INCOME, THOSE WHO ARE SENIORS. CITIZENS LIVE IN GREENVILLE,
Greenville senior citizens are facing a rise in housing challenges, GHA says
Seniors turning to emergency shelters, extended-stay motels rising, data shows
Updated: 11:32 AM EST Feb 2, 2023
There has been an alarming increase in senior citizens across the area who are faced with housing challenges for the first time, as they enter a later phase of life.”We’re seeing this burgeoning epidemic of elderly people who are losing their homes,” Bob Jones University chair of the Division of Health Sciences, Dr. Amy Hicks said. “Some of them have been homeless for an extended time, but more and more we’re seeing people who are becoming homeless later in life.” MORE HEADLINESOne person found dead after house fire in UpstateSC woman with beginner’s permit leads deputies on chase; gun, marijuana found in car, deputies say’Affirmative Action Bake Sale’ at Clemson University leaves several students upsetHicks, along with a few colleagues and several organizations in the Upstate like the Greenville Homeless Alliance, was a key contributor to a recent case study waiting for publication. The case study focused on many barriers that seniors face, including housing.“We’re seeing people who are becoming homeless for the first time when they’re 55, 65, and even 70 years old,” Hicks said. “Rising housing costs, higher medical bills as you age, moving out of the workforce and into social security that doesn’t meet their needs. Our community is really only as healthy as our most vulnerable people.”Greenville Homeless Alliance Director Susan McLarty said senior citizens are usually classified as those 55 and older, but in some cases, 62 and up can be considered the correct age. McLarty said seniors are now having to turn to housing alternatives to avoid being out on the street completely, like extended-stay motels and emergency shelters.”In Greenville, specifically, we’ve seen a number of seniors utilizing our motels as long-term housing because we know we have this growing deficit of housing options,” McLarty said. “In Greenville, the cost for an extended stay and a motel would go from $300 a week up to $500 a week in some of the motels we know seniors are utilizing.”McLarty said the data of the average cost of an extended stay motel is based on seven locations in the area in which the seniors have reported living to the GHA. McLarty said another contributing factor to seniors going to extended-stay motels and emergency shelters comes down to having a fixed income.”The cost for senior assisted living is often going to be more than what someone on a more fixed lower income can afford,” McLarty said.McLarty added, that most extended stays have utilities included in the fee, but seniors with a fixed income may struggle to pay it along with a lack of accommodation for someone who is aging.”We had about 1,900 unique individuals come through shelter in the most recent year, and a third of all people coming through our emergency shelters are senior citizens,” McLarty said.”Often, shelters are not designed for the elderly,” Hicks said. “So, how do we meet their needs for handicapped accessibility, for privacy, for independence, all while meeting their needs for food, warmth and clothing?”Both McLarty and Hicks said a step toward reaching a long-term solution would include more housing to meet the growth and demand in the area, but more so housing that can accommodate senior living on a fixed income.
There has been an alarming increase in senior citizens across the area who are faced with housing challenges for the first time, as they enter a later phase of life.
“We’re seeing this burgeoning epidemic of elderly people who are losing their homes,” Bob Jones University chair of the Division of Health Sciences, Dr. Amy Hicks said. “Some of them have been homeless for an extended time, but more and more we’re seeing people who are becoming homeless later in life.”
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Hicks, along with a few colleagues and several organizations in the Upstate like the Greenville Homeless Alliance, was a key contributor to a recent case study waiting for publication. The case study focused on many barriers that seniors face, including housing.
“We’re seeing people who are becoming homeless for the first time when they’re 55, 65, and even 70 years old,” Hicks said. “Rising housing costs, higher medical bills as you age, moving out of the workforce and into social security that doesn’t meet their needs. Our community is really only as healthy as our most vulnerable people.”
Greenville Homeless Alliance Director Susan McLarty said senior citizens are usually classified as those 55 and older, but in some cases, 62 and up can be considered the correct age. McLarty said seniors are now having to turn to housing alternatives to avoid being out on the street completely, like extended-stay motels and emergency shelters.
“In Greenville, specifically, we’ve seen a number of seniors utilizing our motels as long-term housing because we know we have this growing deficit of housing options,” McLarty said. “In Greenville, the cost for an extended stay and a motel would go from $300 a week up to $500 a week in some of the motels we know seniors are utilizing.”
McLarty said the data of the average cost of an extended stay motel is based on seven locations in the area in which the seniors have reported living to the GHA. McLarty said another contributing factor to seniors going to extended-stay motels and emergency shelters comes down to having a fixed income.
“The cost for senior assisted living is often going to be more than what someone on a more fixed lower income can afford,” McLarty said.
McLarty added, that most extended stays have utilities included in the fee, but seniors with a fixed income may struggle to pay it along with a lack of accommodation for someone who is aging.
“We had about 1,900 unique individuals come through shelter in the most recent year, and a third of all people coming through our emergency shelters are senior citizens,” McLarty said.
“Often, shelters are not designed for the elderly,” Hicks said. “So, how do we meet their needs for handicapped accessibility, for privacy, for independence, all while meeting their needs for food, warmth and clothing?”
Both McLarty and Hicks said a step toward reaching a long-term solution would include more housing to meet the growth and demand in the area, but more so housing that can accommodate senior living on a fixed income.
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